David Wenner, M.S.W., J.D. is nationally recognized as an authority on juror bias and decision-making. As a partner in the Phoenix law firm of Snyder & Wenner, P.C., Mr. Wenner has spent the last two decades prosecuting wrongful death and catastrophic injury accident cases, speaking to lawyers across the country on juror bias and decision-making, and creating a successful juror bias model.
Date of Birth: April 10, 1952
Place of Birth: Detroit, Michigan
Professional Employment
Snyder and Wenner, P.C.
Partner
SnyderWenner.com
Practice is devoted to litigating catastrophic tort cases and jury research and consulting.
Education
1975 B.A. in Psychology – Wayne State University
1977 M.S.W. in Social Work – University of Washington
1984 J.D. – Arizona State University
Admission to Bars
Arizona – 1984
United States District Court of Arizona – 1984
United States Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit – 1985
United States Supreme Court – 1990
Special Distinctions
Best Lawyers in America, 2000–present
Super Lawyers 2007–present
Diplomate of Trial of Advocacy – National College of Advocacy, 1997
Advanced Studies in Trial Advocacy, 2007
Co-Developer of ATLA’s Overcoming Juror Bias Program
Co-Developer of Descriptive and Jury Bias Model™
Committees
Member of the Board of Trustees – AAJ National College of Advocacy, 1995–2001, 2003–2006; 2009–present
Co-Chair Blue Ribbon Committee Appointed by ATLA President to Study Jury Bias
Chair AAJ Jury Project
Co-Chair AAJ Jury Bias Litigation Group
Co-Chair daVinci Robotic Surgery Litigation Group
Board of the Arizona Trial Lawyers
AAJ Public Education Committee
Honors
Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society – University of Washington
Research
Jury Bias ATLA Blue Ribbon Committee
Tort Reform Rhetoric and Juror Attitudes, 2000–2001, Stanford University, Roscoe Pound Foundation
Juror Attitudes Post 9/11, ATLA
Judicial Attitudes on Attorney Conducted Voir Dire
Brief Summary of Some of the Seminars and Colleges (Presentation and Faculty)
02/26/94 – ATLA NCA Post-Ultimate College – Charleston, SC – ATLA’s First Focus 03/03/94 Group College; Faculty Member – Lecture – Social Psychology of the Jury Trial
04/28/95–05/01/95 – ATLA NCA Post-Ultimate College: Focusing on Your Case – Houston, TX – Faculty – Lecture – Social Psychology
11/24/95 – NCA Holiday Golf Classic Seminar: Professional Liability Issues – Pebble Beach, 11/27/95 CA – Lecture – Jury Decision-Making
02/23/96 – ATLA NCA Premises Liability: Inadequate Security and Violent Crimes – 02/24/96 Scottsdale, AZ – Lecture – Negligent Hiring and Jury Decisions in Inadequate Security Cases
03/01/96–03/04/96 – ATLA NCA Post-Ultimate College: Focusing on Your Case – Arlington, VA – Co-Chair and Faculty
07/27/96–07/31/96 – ATLA 1996 Annual Convention: Fighting for Justice By and For the People, Boston, MA – Lecture – Focus Groups for Trial Lawyers
10/11/96 – AzTLA Program – The Medical Malpractice Case – Lecture
11/08/96 – AzTLA Program – A Day In Court With The Masters – Lecture
12/13/96 – AzTLA Program – Arizona’s Top Ten – How They Did It – Lecture
02/07/97–02/10/97 – NCA Case Workshop Program – Tucson, AZ – Co-Chair and Faculty
02/24/97–02/25/97 – NCA Resort Mega Seminar: Collision Cases, Premises Liability & Persuading Jurors – Las Vegas, NV – Lecture – Juror Bias
05/16/97–05/17/97 – ATLA Overcoming Juror Bias – Houston, TX – Co-Created and Co-Chaired Lecture – Jury Bias
07/18/97–07/23/97 – ATLA 1997 Annual Convention – San Diego, CA – Lecture – Persuasion
07/97 – State Bar of Arizona – CLE By The Sea – Faculty – Sneak Preview Into a Jury Room – Lecture and Demonstration of Jury Deliberation
09/18/97–09/21/97 – ATLA Case Workshop Program – Atlanta, GA – Faculty Member
09/26/97–09/27/97 – ATLA Overcoming Juror Bias – Chicago, IL – Chair and Faculty – Lecture – Jury Bias, Conducted Focus Group
10/31/97–11/01/97 – NCA Mega Seminar: TBI, Medicine, Employment; Plenary: Overcoming Juror Bias – Reno, NV – Lecture – Jury Bias
01/16/98–01/19/98 – Medical Trial Skills College – Arizona State University College of Law, Tempe, AZ – Faculty Member, Conducted Live Focus Group
02/21/98–02/25/98 – ATLA 1998 Winter Convention – Maui, HI – Lecture – Juror Judgment and Decision-Making
03/13/98–03/14/98 – ATLA Overcoming Juror Bias – Salt Lake City, UT – Chair and Faculty – Lecture – Jury Bias, Conducted Live Focus Group
04/23/98–04/26/98 – ATLA Case Workshop Program – Santa Fe, NM – Faculty
10/98 – AzTLA Program – Overcoming Juror Bias in Voir Dire – Chair and Faculty – Lecture – Juror Decision-Making
12/12/98–12/13/98 – ATLA 1998 Weekend with the Stars – New York, NY – Lecture – Jury Decision-Making
02/26/99–02/27/99 – ATLA Doubleheader: Litigating Catastrophically Injured Infant Cases; Premises Liability: Inadequate Security – Phoenix, AZ – Faculty Voir Dire
04/09/99–04/10/99 – ATLA New Frontiers in Overcoming Juror Bias – Jupiter, FL – Chair and Faculty Lecture – Jury Bias, Conducted Live Focus Group
04/21/99–04/25/99 – ATLA Case Workshop Program – Minneapolis, MN – Faculty
07/17/99–07/21/99 – ATLA Annual Convention – San Francisco, CA – Focus Group Demonstration
10/09/99–10/11/99 – NCA Trial Advocacy College: Voir Dire – Phoenix, AZ – Co-Chair and Faculty
02/04/00–02/05/00 – ATLA Overcoming Juror Bias – Phoenix, AZ – Co-Chair and Faculty – Lecture – Jury Bias
02/25/00–02/26/00 – ATLA Litigating Catastrophically Injured Infant Cases From a Trial Lawyer’s Perspective – Atlanta, GA – Lecture – Jury Bias in Catastrophically Injured Infant Cases
03/17/00–03/18/00 – ATLA Litigating Employment Cases From a Trial Lawyer’s Perspective – Las Vegas, NV – Lecture – Juror Judgment and Decision-Making in Employment Cases
07/27/00–08/02/00 – ATLA Annual Convention – Chicago, IL – Lecture – New Frontiers in Juror Bias
10/22/00 – Nevada Trial Lawyers Annual Convention – Lecture – Jury Bias
11/10/00 – ABOTA Seminar – Lecture – Focus Groups
12/10/00–12/11/00 – ATLA Weekend With The Stars – New York, NY – Co-Chair and Faculty Lecture – Jury Decision-Making and Bias
1/10/01 – Faculty ATLA’s Medical Trial Skills College – Miami, FL
3/01 – Faculty ATLA’s Overcoming Juror Bias College – Atlanta, GA
4/01 – Lectured on Juror Bias, Michigan State Bar – Troy, MI
5/01 – Faculty in house Continue Legal Education for the Law Firm Jones, Day – Tucson, AZ
7/01 – State Bar of Arizona CLE by the Sea Half Day Program, Jury Psychology, with Howard Nations – San Diego, CA
7/01 – ATLA’s Annual Convention Lecture with Stanford Psychology Professor Lee Ross on Psychology for Lawyers – Montreal, Canada
9/01 – Faculty ATLA Overcoming Juror Bias Seminar, Multiple Lectures on the Juror Bias Model – Las Vegas, NV
10/01 – North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers Annual Meeting, New Frontiers in Juror Bias – Birmingham, AL
01/02 – Full day presentation State Bar of Arizona, Jury Psychology with Howard Nations – Phoenix, AZ
2/02 – Faculty, Overcoming Jury Bias College, ATLA – Coronado, CA
5/02 – Presentation, Jury Bias, Kentucky Trial Lawyers Association, Louisville, KY
5/02 – Faculty, Overcoming Jury Bias Seminar, ATLA-Las Vegas, NV
6/02 – Keynote Lecture – National Employment Lawyer Association Annual Conference, Juror Bias, Orlando, FL
9/02 – Faculty – Overcoming Juror Bias Seminar -Philadelphia, PA
10/02 – Faculty, ATLA Trial Advocacy College, Direct and Cross-Examination – Phoenix, AZ
11/02 – Lecture, Jury Bias, Iowa Trial Lawyers Association, Des Moines, IA
2/03 – Faculty, ATLA Overcoming Juror Bias College, Phoenix, AZ
4/03 – Lecture, Jury Bias, Iowa Trial Lawyers Association, Des Moines, IA
7/03 – Jury Psychology, ATLA Annual Conference, San Francisco, CA
8/03 – Persuasion, Colorado Trail Lawyers, Vail, CO
9/03 – Speaker, Jury Bias, Michigan Trial Lawyers Association, Farmington, MI
12/03 – Speaker, Psyching Yourself Up For Trial, ATLA’s Weekend With The Stars, New York, NY
4/04 – Faculty, Exposing, Attacking & Defeating Juror Bias, ATLA, Las Vegas, NV
3/04 – Faculty, Ultimate Course: Art of Persuasion, Harvard Law School, ATLA, Cambridge, MA
4/04 – Co-Chair, Overcoming Jury Bias Seminar, ATLA, Las Vegas, NV
4/04 – Faculty, Jury Bias, Washington State Trial Lawyers, Tacoma, WA
5/04 – Co-Chair and Presentation on Jury Bias, Arizona Trial Lawyer Annual Conference
5/04 – Faculty, Seminar on Jury Decision-Making for the Ontario Trial Lawyers, Toronto, Canada
7/04 – Presentation, Jury Psychology, Trial Advocacy, ATLA Annual Convention, Boston, MA
11/04 – Faculty, Jury Decision Making, ATLA Mediterranean Cruise: An Italian Aria, Venice, Italy
12/04 – Speaker, ATLA’s 18th Annual Weekend with the Stars, New York, NY
1/05 – Faculty, ATLA’s Overcoming Jury Bias in Complex Cases Seminar, Miami Beach, FL
2/05 – Focus Group Demonstration, AAJ’s Medical Trial Skills College, Scottsdale, AZ
3/05 – Faculty, ATLA’s The Ultimate Trial Advocacy Course, Georgetown Law School, Washington D.C.
5/05 – Presentation, Jury Bias, Nevada Trial Lawyer Seminar, Las Vegas, NV
7/05 – Speaker, Jury decision making, CLE by the Sea, San Diego, CA, State Bar of Arizona
7/05 – Presentation on Jury Psychology, 2005 ATLA’s Annual Convention, Toronto, Ontario
11/05 – Faculty, ATLA’S Overcoming Juror Bias College Part I, Atlanta, GA
2/06 – Presentation, Jury Bias, ATLA’s Winter Convention, Honolulu, HI
3/06 – Faculty, ATLA’s Overcoming Jury Bias Seminar, Las Vegas, NV
3/06 – Half Day Presentation, Overcoming Jury Bias, Wyoming Trial Lawyers, Jackson Hole, WY
6/06 – Presentation, Communication with Conservative Jurors, Attorney Information Exchange Group, Denver, CO
7/06 – Presentation, Jury Decision Making, ATLA’s Annual Conference, Seattle, WA
9/06 – Faculty, ATLA’s Psychology of Persuasion, Atlanta, GA
10/06 – Faculty, ATLA’s Overcoming Juror Bias College, Atlanta, GA
2/07 – Presentation, Trial Story Framing in Birth Trauma Cases, AAJ’s Litigating Injured Infants Seminar, Tucson, AZ
3/07 – Faculty, Overcoming Jury Bias, Alabama Trial Lawyers, Birmingham, AL
6//07 – Half Day Presentation, Jury Bias, Oklahoma Trial Lawyers, Las Vegas, NV
7/07 – Presentation, New Frontiers in Jury Bias, Trial Advocacy, Annual Conference, American Association for Justice, Chicago, IL
7/07 – Presentation, Jury Selection in Traumatic Brain Injury Cases, Annual Conference, American Association for Justice, Chicago, IL
8/07 – Presentation, Jury Decision Making in Auto Defect Cases, Attorney Information Exchange Group, Santa Fe, NM
10/07 – Presentation, The Unconscious and Jury Decision Making, Annual Conference, Arizona Trial Lawyers, Scottsdale, AZ
10/07 – Presentation, Jury Selection, Maricopa County Superior Court Judges, Mesa, AZ
11/07 – Faculty, AAJ’S New Avenues to Justice: The Art and Science of Persuasion, Las Vegas, NV
1/08 – Presentation and Demonstration, Focus Groups and Jury Bias, New Mexico Trial Lawyers, Albuquerque, NM
2/08 – Presentation, Focus Groups, Defective Drug Seminar, AAJ, Las Vegas, NV
3/08 – Presentation, Jury Bias Model, The Juror and the Unconscious, OJB Seminar, AAJ, Phoenix, AZ
4/08 – Presentation, AIEG Seminar, Seattle, WA
12/08 – 2008 Case Plus: The Next Step In Developing
2/09 – Presenter AAJ Mid-Winter Convention Maui, HI
4/09 – Presentation, Nurse Legal Consulting Annual Conference, Glendale, AZ
4/09 – Presentation, AAJ Medical Negligence Conference
8/09 – Presentation, Kentucky Justice Association Annual Conference, French Lick, IN
1/10 – Presentation, California Consumer Trial Lawyer Annual Conference, San Francisco, CA
7/10 – Presentation, AAJ Annual Conference, Vancouver, B.C.
8/10 – Presentation Oregon/Washington Trial Lawyer Annual Conference
3/11 – Faculty AAJ’s Ultimate Trial Advocacy Course: Art of Persuasion
7/11 – Presenter AAJ Annual Convention, New York, NY
2/12 – Presenter, AAJ Mid-Winter Convention, Jury Selection, Biltmore Hotel, Phoenix, AZ
3/12 – Faculty AAJ Ultimate Trial Advocacy Course, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA
3/12 – Chair and Faculty, Jury Bias Model 2: Applying the Principles from Discovery to Closing, Las Vegas, NV
6/12 – Presentation, Florida Workhorse Seminar, Orlando, FL
7/12 – Presentation, Thinking about Juror Thinking, AAJ Annual Conference Common Juror Attitudes; Chicago, IL
7/13 – Presentation AAJ Annual Conference San Francisco, Using Rules to Frame Juror Decisions
12/13 – Chair and Presenter, 2013 Weekend With The Stars New York, NY
3/14 – Co-Chair and Presenter AAJ Case Framing Seminar, Scottsdale, AZ
3/14 – Co-Chair and Presenter AAJ Skiing With The Stars Seminar, Park City, UT
4/14 – Chair and Presentation, Psychology of Voir Dire; Arizona Trial Lawyers, Phoenix, AZ
6/14 – Conduct 1 Day Seminar on Jury Decision Making with Gregory S. Cusimano, Texas Trial Lawyers, Austin, TX
7/14 – Presentation, AAJ Annual Conference Assimilating Focus Group Data
9/14 – Presentation, AAJ Rules of the Road in Medical Negligence Cases, Santa Fe, NM
11/14 – Presentation and Co-Chair AAJ, Case Framing, Atlanta, GA
Articles
Wenner, D., “Anchoring A Tool For Trial Lawyers”, July 2013, Proceedings of AAJ Annual Convention
Jenson, R. and Wenner, D, “Through the Eyes of a Juror”, Trial Magazine July 2013
Wenner, D, “Are Jurors Influenced By What They Wish To Believe?”, JuryBIasBlog.com, April 2011
Wenner, D and Cusimano, G, “Reframing the Model”, Trial Magazine, March 2008
Wenner, D., “Book Review, Scientific Jury Selection”, Trial Magazine, March 2007
“Personal Reflection Regarding Juror Bias”, Trial Magazine, July 2004,
Letter to the Editor, Wall Street Journal, “Companies on Trial Play Blame-the-Plaintiff Card”, January 20, 2004
Wenner, D.; Conlin, R.B., Cusimano, G. (editors), “Jury Bias”, ATLA’s Litigating Tort Cases, Chapter 35, (West & ATLA, 2003)
Wenner, D. and Cusimano, G., “Combating Juror Bias”, Trial, P 30, June 2000
Wenner, D., “Preparing for Trial: An Uncommon Approach” Trial, P. 62, January 1998
Gilbert, J., Ollanik, S. and Wenner, D., “Overcoming Juror Bias in Voir Dire”, Trial, P. 42 July 1997
Wenner, D. “Communication Skills in the Courtroom Summation”, Arizona Trial Lawyers, P. 4, Fall 1985
Wenner, D. and Swanson, S., “Sensory Language in the Courtroom”, Trial Diplomacy
Journal, P. 13, Winter 1981
